As my readers know, I have been blogging over and over again that Breeder Brenda Barnette never mentions spay/neuter in her "press releases". As we all know, breeders don't believe in spay/neuter and BB is staying true to her roots. She just ignores the free ink of this vital subject, concentrating instead on making herself look cute by singing the blues. http://workingtohelpanimalstodaytomorrow.blogspot.com/2011/05/brenda-barnette-singing-blues-but-again.html
FINALLY, BB has released a public information that does mention spay/neuter. She starts by mentioning that citizens are blowing the whistle on backyard breeding. Well, Miss BB, we have always been doing that. I do a reverse lookup on telephone numbers advertising puppies, I call it in to agencies serving that area to ask for a license check or a breeder permit. So far, about 90% of those resulted in NO dog license, much less a breeder permit. I know another person that does the same. So this is nothing new, BB.
"Recently, Angelenos expressed their concern that Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) still puts animals to death for lack of space. They took action for positive change and reported neighbors and people advertising puppies online to LAAS."
Guess BB doesn't realize that this is more a sign of her incompetence in enforcing the ordinances of LA than anything else. Enforce the laws of LA City, don't sit and expect the citizens to do your job.
I'm curious as to how many citations have been issued under the reign of Brenda Barnette. I can tell you, not nearly enough.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
AUSTIN, STAYING TRUE TO LEARNING THEIR LESSON THE HARD WAY
This is the second article talking about the overcrowded situation in Austin. Really, now? Miss Abigail talks about reducing intake, well her version is to turn owners away in order to do this. What will that accomplish?
http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2011-07-29/the-unintended-consequences-of-no-kills-success/
"So, the question is: Has it turned out that skeptics were right all along in arguing that the attempt to make Austin a no-kill city was bound to result in an animal shelter operating constantly over capacity, with animals living in every available space and staffers overwhelmed by a never-ending flood of new arrivals? The answer, Smith says, is yes and no."
"So yes, part of the reason the shelter is constantly at capacity these days is because of the city's no-kill status. But Smith says the shelter's consistently bulging population has not and will not result in increased euthanasia rates. The city's implementation plan may allow for euthanasia when no cage space is available, but Smith believes that has "nothing to do with what no-kill authentically is.""
Smith may be so drunk that she believes that but I will tell you what it actually means. It will mean more animals running the streets in Austin. It will mean more animals lying by the side of the road dying a long and painful death. It will mean more feral cats to deal with. It means disaster is awaiting right around the corner.
I am receiving messages that the staff at TLAC is overworked and tired. Does that mean that overtime is being paid? Money that could best be used for other programs. When staff is overworked, that means the animals suffer. Volunteers, most often, are more trouble than they are worth. Volunteers aren't reliable and if you depend on volunteers, then you are up the creek without a paddle. What happens if those volunteers don't show? Staff has to make up the difference. You don't put dependence on volunteers in an open door shelter or any shelter for that matter. To do so is a kiss of death.
Miss Abigail is overworking staff, stacking and crating them, and denying that there is a problem. Ah, that koolaid blinds Miss Abigail to the obvious, but not the rest of us.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2011-07-29/the-unintended-consequences-of-no-kills-success/
"So, the question is: Has it turned out that skeptics were right all along in arguing that the attempt to make Austin a no-kill city was bound to result in an animal shelter operating constantly over capacity, with animals living in every available space and staffers overwhelmed by a never-ending flood of new arrivals? The answer, Smith says, is yes and no."
"So yes, part of the reason the shelter is constantly at capacity these days is because of the city's no-kill status. But Smith says the shelter's consistently bulging population has not and will not result in increased euthanasia rates. The city's implementation plan may allow for euthanasia when no cage space is available, but Smith believes that has "nothing to do with what no-kill authentically is.""
Smith may be so drunk that she believes that but I will tell you what it actually means. It will mean more animals running the streets in Austin. It will mean more animals lying by the side of the road dying a long and painful death. It will mean more feral cats to deal with. It means disaster is awaiting right around the corner.
I am receiving messages that the staff at TLAC is overworked and tired. Does that mean that overtime is being paid? Money that could best be used for other programs. When staff is overworked, that means the animals suffer. Volunteers, most often, are more trouble than they are worth. Volunteers aren't reliable and if you depend on volunteers, then you are up the creek without a paddle. What happens if those volunteers don't show? Staff has to make up the difference. You don't put dependence on volunteers in an open door shelter or any shelter for that matter. To do so is a kiss of death.
Miss Abigail is overworking staff, stacking and crating them, and denying that there is a problem. Ah, that koolaid blinds Miss Abigail to the obvious, but not the rest of us.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
BRENDA BARNETTE - WELL, WELL, WELL, AS IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT!!
Remember a few weeks ago an article came out in http://www.opposingviews.com/ about a poor doggie who was microchipped and his owner was looking for him. Well, when his owner finally did get him back, the microchip had been surgically removed and the dog was scheduled for one of those "transports" up north. These are nothing more than the Highway to Hell that I have posted about many times on this blog.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/are-l-a-s-transported-dogs-stolen-or-rescued
By Phyllis M Daugherty on Jun 15, 2011
You'll just have to read it all, explaining about this poor dog and the nightmare of every responsible owner out there who has their pet microchipped.
I blogged this on June 4th, 2011.
http://workingtohelpanimalstodaytomorrow.blogspot.com/2011/06/omg-brenda-barnette-stolen-dogs-whats.html
JUST IN TODAY, dig this article in a LA Newspaper, the LAist, http://ht.ly/5JnGR
No matter what they find, the bottomline is that Villaraigosa and his stooge Jim Bickhart picked Barnette and all the last Bozo LA Animal Services GM's, so where does the buck stop, Antonio?
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/are-l-a-s-transported-dogs-stolen-or-rescued
By Phyllis M Daugherty on Jun 15, 2011
You'll just have to read it all, explaining about this poor dog and the nightmare of every responsible owner out there who has their pet microchipped.
I blogged this on June 4th, 2011.
http://workingtohelpanimalstodaytomorrow.blogspot.com/2011/06/omg-brenda-barnette-stolen-dogs-whats.html
JUST IN TODAY, dig this article in a LA Newspaper, the LAist, http://ht.ly/5JnGR
In a letter to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Greuel points to the dominant reasons that precipitated the audit:
"[T]he Department of Animal Services is currently undergoing many management challenges as a result of compromised internal policies and procedures. These challenges include issues with personnel oversight, the health and well-being of the shelter animals, as well as challenges with staffing as they relate to all of the City's animal shelters."
No matter what they find, the bottomline is that Villaraigosa and his stooge Jim Bickhart picked Barnette and all the last Bozo LA Animal Services GM's, so where does the buck stop, Antonio?
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
BRENDA BARNETTE: WHAT IS THE REAL REASON BEHIND YOUR GETTING RID OF ASSISTANT GM KATHY DAVIS?
Are you afraid to have someone on your staff that really knows about animal control and knows why none of your stats add up? Someone who would have fired Mark "Sleazy" Salazar? Was it because Kathy Davis wouldn't carry out your dirty work?
First you got rid of Linda Barth who said "NO" to you. So now you had to move Kathy Davis out. Big mistake, BB!!! You think you've got free rein now. You just got rid of your "lifeline." Kathy Davis and Linda Barth could write. You can't even get through an e-mail without bad spelling and grammar errors. Do you think the Council won't notice that the brains are gone?
You think you can cover up your own screw ups on numbers by pointing the finger at employees but bottom line is that you need these employees. Who is Sleazy going to use to get his work done? There's not going to be anybody to delegate it to and his total impotence, excuse me, incompetence will be hanging out there. (Oops, didn't mean to reference his past record of sexual harassment claims but it just slipped out.)
You will both be exposed soon. It's on its way. You aren't near as clever as you think. You're in the BIG city now. You brought the spotlight on YOU and you can't even get a website right. So now you may have to come to work. You can't run a city department from home without Kathy Davis. Yeah, everybody knows!
Monday, July 18, 2011
YEP, AUSTIN, YOU HAVE A BIG PROBLEM.
I find this especially interesting. Seems Travis County is turning in their pets at a remarkable rate. And the solution is not closing the drop box or counseling with an owner that wants to surrender their pet. To let an owner walk back out the front door with a pet they want to surrender only means that pet will be abandoned or neglected. I don't call that humane but hey, with "No Kill", outta sight, outta mind, and it doesn't care what happens as long as it doesn't have to deal with it.
I compared Travis County with the State of California. California has the Annual Report of Local Rabies Control Activities. According to their 08 report, 09 is incomplete still, there were a total of 133,682 cats and dogs surrendered by the owner. California has a population in 11 of 37,351,947 people. This means that one in 260 people surrendered their pet to a California shelter.
In Travis County, with a population in 11 of 1,049,873, there were 6419 pets surrendered by their owner. This is a rate of one in 156 people surrendering their pet.
Does anyone see the problem here?
Sunday, July 17, 2011
AUSTIN, YOU'RE LYING. PART TWO: IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG
I will offer an explanation for yesterday and Pet Harbor. Sometimes when there is an upgrade to the system, it will lose info for awhile. That could be the cause of the fiasco yesterday. BUT, and this is a big one, I see that most of the dogs are already altered. Now most shelter alter upon adoption. Reason? Because if they die in the shelter or are never adopted, it is a waste of money. Considering that the Austin taxpayer is already spending much more money housing long term, this is adding insult to injury. The question also is whether these rescues are pulling already altered dogs, altered at taxpayer expense, because that is a good deal for any rescue. Then the rescues don't have to spend their money and they can make more on their adoptions. Many cities have ordinances about giving away city property or making gifts of property/money. Can anyone tell me if TLAC charges the rescues for taking animals out? If they don't, then TLAC is making a "gift" to these rescues and I wonder if that has cleared City Hall.
Also, I am getting word that there is a lot of overtime being used at TLAC. When Austin is having to cut programs, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Put that money to better use on programs to help kids and the elderly.
UPDATE 2: Pet Harbor is now back up this morning and there are 207 adoptable dogs listed. I also understand that the dogs I have listed below as being long term residents have been rejected by the rescues for behavioral problems. So instead Abigail choses to pimp them off on the unsuspecting and innocent public. Just setting someone up for a pit attack, it seems. I predict that Austin will be the quickest failure of "No Kill".
UPDATE: Today, I visited pet harbor and there were 27 pages of dogs for adoption. Now there are six pages and no pictures. Is Abigail pulling an Ed Boks on the Chameleon? Something is wrong, very wrong. Either they ain't keeping accurate records or they are trying to mess with the system just like Boks did in LA and New York. I checked my emails and I notified a friend about Pet Harbor at 7:00 Austin time, it was after that that suddenly all those animals disappeared. This would mean that whatever happened was done after hours. Anyone know who was at the shelter at that time?
Forget the numbers, just look at www.petharbor.com if you don't think Austin is screwed.
I guess Miss Abigail thinks that a shelter full of pit bulls is a wonderful thing because the shelter is definitely full of them. Note the absence of small dogs, only a handful. The rescues are taking advantage and cherry picking the best of the best and leaving the shit for Abigail to worry about.
For the public to go to a shelter full of pit bulls means that the public will now turn to the rescues for the cute, fluffy dogs. I can understand that people in the city might adopt a pit bull but people in the country won't. Country folks aren't gonna take a chance on bringing in a breed of dog known for aggression toward other animals.
And the pleas for help are all over Craigslist. TLAC is having to euthanize for space and I can guarantee that before long, it will worse than ever. The biggest agency, Austin Pets Alive, is begging for foster homes. Great except that they will saturate their market and those in foster will sit there, never finding a "forever" home. That's when the fosters will drop like flies and return their fosters to TLAC.
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2472980947.html
Every day the Town Lake Animal Center is full to the brim as people continue to bring in unwanted kittens and cats. Babies as young as a few days old, rambunctious weaned kittens, easy-going adults and sweet old ladies, all of them are at risk for being killed because there is no room for them.
Let the suffering begin. It is just down right wrong to keep a dog confined for this length of time. Word has it that one day the dog might be walked and the next day, no walking. Kennel stress will make an adoptable dog unadoptable in a short length of time.
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2490865076.html
Emmy Lou is her name and she's as sweet as her name sounds. She's a 6yr Female Boxer Mix and she's a total doll. She's been around other dogs & even CATS and could careless about them. She seems to just want to be around everyone and everything. This sweet girl has been at the shelter for almost 80 days and to top it off the heat is making her miserable.
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2482667128.html
I am in kennel 197 and I've been at the Town Lake Animal Center for 106 DAYS!!
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2497931258.html
The TLAC Shelter took in 16 new cats yesterday with literally 0 cages to put them in. They had to make the tough decision to euthanize a few kitties so that they could make space for all of them. TLAC is bursting at the seems with cats and kittens. Every new cat and/or kitten they intake today = a cat or/kitten that will most likely lose their life unless these kitties are moved out NOW so that some of the cages are freed up!!!
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2418236485.html
APA!'s bottle baby nursery, mom w/babies program, and ringworm ward are officially filled to capacity.
We can no longer save kittens less than 6wks of age, moms with babies, pregnant moms, or any cats/kittens that have ringworm because of lack of space. This means that any cats/kittens that fall under this category at Town Lake Animal Center are at risk for being put to sleep.
Plus they offered a $4 adoption fee, $4!!!!! How many of those bargain basement adoptions will ever see the inside of a vet's office? If you can't afford to pay the regular price, how can you maintain a pet? Check the shelters surrounding Austin and see what is happening there. Doug Rae, during his reign of terror in Indy, had a $4 adoption on 4th of July and the surrounding shelters complained to Councilmember Mike Speedy about people wanting to return their adoption to the Indy shelter and were turned away, they ended up at other shelters. Plus several of the dogs adopted during that event ended up biting their new owners. So Austin taxpayers paid for the altering, shots, etc and no return for that money. With Austin cutting other programs like for at-risk kids and the elderly, TLAC is throwing away tax dollars. Not even to mention that with firewords, taking a new pets home is not a good idea anyway. Bad enough for the pet to cope with the strangeness of a new home and then the fireworks.
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2477120000.html
TLAC is open TODAY and offering all dogs and cats for a $4.00 adoption fee!!!!
So, Miss Abigail, you have saturated your market, your shelter is full, now what do you do? You either euthanize or you become another example of the horrors of Nathan Winograd's "No Kill Equation" just like Philly. Remember how they bragged about their numbers until they were on the verge of having cruelty charges filed? Austin is heading down that path to hell but the hell is what the animals feel they are in. More to come, lots more.
Also, I am getting word that there is a lot of overtime being used at TLAC. When Austin is having to cut programs, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Put that money to better use on programs to help kids and the elderly.
UPDATE 2: Pet Harbor is now back up this morning and there are 207 adoptable dogs listed. I also understand that the dogs I have listed below as being long term residents have been rejected by the rescues for behavioral problems. So instead Abigail choses to pimp them off on the unsuspecting and innocent public. Just setting someone up for a pit attack, it seems. I predict that Austin will be the quickest failure of "No Kill".
UPDATE: Today, I visited pet harbor and there were 27 pages of dogs for adoption. Now there are six pages and no pictures. Is Abigail pulling an Ed Boks on the Chameleon? Something is wrong, very wrong. Either they ain't keeping accurate records or they are trying to mess with the system just like Boks did in LA and New York. I checked my emails and I notified a friend about Pet Harbor at 7:00 Austin time, it was after that that suddenly all those animals disappeared. This would mean that whatever happened was done after hours. Anyone know who was at the shelter at that time?
Forget the numbers, just look at www.petharbor.com if you don't think Austin is screwed.
I guess Miss Abigail thinks that a shelter full of pit bulls is a wonderful thing because the shelter is definitely full of them. Note the absence of small dogs, only a handful. The rescues are taking advantage and cherry picking the best of the best and leaving the shit for Abigail to worry about.
For the public to go to a shelter full of pit bulls means that the public will now turn to the rescues for the cute, fluffy dogs. I can understand that people in the city might adopt a pit bull but people in the country won't. Country folks aren't gonna take a chance on bringing in a breed of dog known for aggression toward other animals.
And the pleas for help are all over Craigslist. TLAC is having to euthanize for space and I can guarantee that before long, it will worse than ever. The biggest agency, Austin Pets Alive, is begging for foster homes. Great except that they will saturate their market and those in foster will sit there, never finding a "forever" home. That's when the fosters will drop like flies and return their fosters to TLAC.
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2472980947.html
Every day the Town Lake Animal Center is full to the brim as people continue to bring in unwanted kittens and cats. Babies as young as a few days old, rambunctious weaned kittens, easy-going adults and sweet old ladies, all of them are at risk for being killed because there is no room for them.
Let the suffering begin. It is just down right wrong to keep a dog confined for this length of time. Word has it that one day the dog might be walked and the next day, no walking. Kennel stress will make an adoptable dog unadoptable in a short length of time.
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2490865076.html
Emmy Lou is her name and she's as sweet as her name sounds. She's a 6yr Female Boxer Mix and she's a total doll. She's been around other dogs & even CATS and could careless about them. She seems to just want to be around everyone and everything. This sweet girl has been at the shelter for almost 80 days and to top it off the heat is making her miserable.
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2482667128.html
I am in kennel 197 and I've been at the Town Lake Animal Center for 106 DAYS!!
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2497931258.html
The TLAC Shelter took in 16 new cats yesterday with literally 0 cages to put them in. They had to make the tough decision to euthanize a few kitties so that they could make space for all of them. TLAC is bursting at the seems with cats and kittens. Every new cat and/or kitten they intake today = a cat or/kitten that will most likely lose their life unless these kitties are moved out NOW so that some of the cages are freed up!!!
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2418236485.html
APA!'s bottle baby nursery, mom w/babies program, and ringworm ward are officially filled to capacity.
We can no longer save kittens less than 6wks of age, moms with babies, pregnant moms, or any cats/kittens that have ringworm because of lack of space. This means that any cats/kittens that fall under this category at Town Lake Animal Center are at risk for being put to sleep.
Plus they offered a $4 adoption fee, $4!!!!! How many of those bargain basement adoptions will ever see the inside of a vet's office? If you can't afford to pay the regular price, how can you maintain a pet? Check the shelters surrounding Austin and see what is happening there. Doug Rae, during his reign of terror in Indy, had a $4 adoption on 4th of July and the surrounding shelters complained to Councilmember Mike Speedy about people wanting to return their adoption to the Indy shelter and were turned away, they ended up at other shelters. Plus several of the dogs adopted during that event ended up biting their new owners. So Austin taxpayers paid for the altering, shots, etc and no return for that money. With Austin cutting other programs like for at-risk kids and the elderly, TLAC is throwing away tax dollars. Not even to mention that with firewords, taking a new pets home is not a good idea anyway. Bad enough for the pet to cope with the strangeness of a new home and then the fireworks.
http://austin.craigslist.org/pet/2477120000.html
TLAC is open TODAY and offering all dogs and cats for a $4.00 adoption fee!!!!
So, Miss Abigail, you have saturated your market, your shelter is full, now what do you do? You either euthanize or you become another example of the horrors of Nathan Winograd's "No Kill Equation" just like Philly. Remember how they bragged about their numbers until they were on the verge of having cruelty charges filed? Austin is heading down that path to hell but the hell is what the animals feel they are in. More to come, lots more.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
AUSTIN, YOU'RE LYING. CREATIVE BOOKKEEPING IS THE WORD.
I'll give you just a taste of what is to come. This is a complicated process and I think it has been set up deliberately so no one can figure it out in order to dispute the percentages that Abigail Smith is coming up with. If anyone can offer some insight that I could be wrong, I would welcome it. It can read another way and the report is not clear on which way it is to be read. This is my version until I am corrected. Of course, I always think the worst, after all it is "No Kill".
For the six month period, January 11 through June 11, let's look at the situation of foster homes for cats. During that period of time, there were 3,789 cats placed into foster care. Only 265 cats were adopted out by the foster. That leaves 3,524 cats still left in foster care. I can find no indication that these 3,524 cats have been returned to the shelter. I can find no indication that these 3,524 cats have been adopted period. Austin reports that they have 96 active foster homes for cats. So it appears that each foster home has 37 cats on an average. Can anyone say hoarding?
So the question is, are these 3,524 cats counted as live releases because they really aren't. They don't have their "forever" home yet and are subject to being brought back into the shelter to add to the numbers there. This would sure have an effect on the numbers, it's basically like hiding 3,524 cats and claiming them as a successful outcome.
This info has been compiled from this link. http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/health/pets/downloads/rescuegrps_0111_070111.pdf
Another way to view it is, let's take the month of June. The total number of cats entering the shelter is 777. The number reported in a foster home at the end of June is 176. Again these can't be counted as live releases. I find it strange that for the prior months foster homes only accounted for about an average of 5 adoptions a week. Yet the last week of June there were 97 adoptions in one week by foster homes!!
And now they are trying to stop taking owner surrendered animals as well.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/health/pets/downloads/priority_rec_0611.pdf
Owner Relinquishment Policy
Implement an owner surrender evaluation
program. This program would require pet
owners considering relinquishment of a pet to
schedule an appointment. On the spot drop off
of owned pets would no longer be accepted.
An evaluation of the pet would be conducted
during the appointment. This would provide
the pet owner with definitive feedback
regarding options available for their pet, if
relinquished.
We all know what this means, Austin will no longer be a true open door shelter. What if an animal doesn't pass this "evaluation"? People don't make appointments and neither do they accept "options", they will just dump the animal instead. Austin has already done away with their night drop box.
Austin is not making it easy to figure all this out. But I will persist. More to come. And that taste I mentioned above, is turning out to be a sour one.
Another way to view it is, let's take the month of June. The total number of cats entering the shelter is 777. The number reported in a foster home at the end of June is 176. Again these can't be counted as live releases. I find it strange that for the prior months foster homes only accounted for about an average of 5 adoptions a week. Yet the last week of June there were 97 adoptions in one week by foster homes!!
And now they are trying to stop taking owner surrendered animals as well.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/health/pets/downloads/priority_rec_0611.pdf
Owner Relinquishment Policy
Implement an owner surrender evaluation
program. This program would require pet
owners considering relinquishment of a pet to
schedule an appointment. On the spot drop off
of owned pets would no longer be accepted.
An evaluation of the pet would be conducted
during the appointment. This would provide
the pet owner with definitive feedback
regarding options available for their pet, if
relinquished.
We all know what this means, Austin will no longer be a true open door shelter. What if an animal doesn't pass this "evaluation"? People don't make appointments and neither do they accept "options", they will just dump the animal instead. Austin has already done away with their night drop box.
Austin is not making it easy to figure all this out. But I will persist. More to come. And that taste I mentioned above, is turning out to be a sour one.
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